Acta Zoologica最新文献

Ecological aspects are essential for testing hypotheses about the characteristics, evolutionary processes and behaviour patterns of different taxa. However, for many neotropical lizards, like Gymnodactylus darwinii, such information is scant in the literature. This lizard is endemic to the Atlantic rainforest, occurring from Rio Grande do Norte to São Paulo. Herein, the aspects of trophic ecology, microenvironmental specificity and sexual dimorphism were analysed from 65 collected individuals and 15 sighted individuals in two conservation units: Camucim and Tapacurá, located in São Lourenço da Mata, north-eastern region of Brazil. The data found classify G. darwinii as a saxicolous lizard, with a preference for rocky outcrops, without sexual dimorphism. According to its trophic ecology, the species is considered a generalist and sit–wait forager. Arthropods, especially Orthoptera and Araneae, dominate the lizard's diet. Neither of these aspects differed between seasons. The present study also shows the importance of the domain conservation, with the aim to provide resources for many vertebrates, especially endemic species.

At the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 21, 800,000 BP), three distinct hyenas remained to appear in Europe with the spotted hyena (Crocuta), brown hyena (Parahyaena) and striped hyena (Hyaena). Each developed in monophyletic lineages, whereas rare brown hyena Parahyaena brunnea mosbachensis (Geib, 1915) and striped hyena Hyaena hyaena prisca De Serres, Dubreuil and Jeanjean, (1828) did not change in their dentition morphology much to their modern forms. Those warm period extinct hyenas did not migrate from Africa over the Rhine Graben migratory channel to Central Europe after the late Mid-Pleistocene Holsteinian Interglacial (MIS 9). The spotted hyenas took over the niche of European hyenas with their appearance in warm and cold periods. Those used more and more cave entrances as dens between Spain and Siberia. Their more rapid dental change coevolved from the largest “giant hyena” Crocuta brevirostris Boule, (1893) (Early Pleistocene, MIS 40-20), over Crocuta intermedia De Serres, Dubreuil and Jeanjean, 1828 (Early Mid-Pleistocene, MIS 19-12), C. praespelaea Schütt, 1971 (Early Mid-Pleistocene, MIS 11-6), to Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) (Early Mid-Pleistocene, MIS 5-3), which is genetically a subspecies to Modern African extant Crocuta crocuta crocuta Erxleben, 1777 (MIS 2-1). Spotted hyenas developed a perfect thick-skin cutter M1 by elongation and bone crusher conical P4 teeth. This adaptation to their main thick-skin big game guilt: elephants, rhinos and hippos.

Larvae of Melolonthinae (white grubs) are usually considered as serious pests for some of them attacking plant roots and causing great losses of agriculture and forestry. However, not all the white grubs are pest species. In this study, the adult Apogonia cupreoviridis were observed to feed on gramineous grasses and fallen ginkgo leaves, while their larvae were frequently collected in the lawn. The larvae were reared in the laboratory and observed using scanning electron microscopy. The larvae have the plegmatia expanded in the middle; distal antennomere with an apical process bearing one bifurcated sensilla and nine sensilla basiconica on the apex; the palidia are V-shaped and each palidium bearing five to nine pali. The V-shaped palidia are found in the known larvae of Diplotaxini, as to genera Apogonia and Liogenys.

In decapod crustaceans, the conditions experienced during embryonic development trigger phenotypic plasticity of the larvae at hatching. The objective of this study was to test the effects of temperature during embryonic development of Palaemon serratus on the phenotypic plasticity of hatching larvae. We incubated egg-bearing females from eggs laying to hatching at four temperatures (10, 15, 18 and 20°C). Weight, carbon and nitrogen contents were measured on newly laid eggs and on freshly hatched larvae. The duration of embryonic development was negatively correlated with incubation temperature. At 20°C, all females abandoned their eggs during development. Incubation temperature had no effect on the weight and the percentage of N of the larvae at hatching, while it did affect their percentage of C and their C/N ratio. Embryos incubated at 10°C seemed to produce larvae with fewer lipid reserves than those incubated at 15 and 18°C. They probably overconsumed their lipid reserves to compensate for the metabolic losses due to the low temperature. These results provide information on the link between maternal investment per egg and larval development in P. serratus.

Members of the genus Phrynosoma all exhibit asperities upon the parietal and squamosal. We examined μ-CT scans of the dermatocrania of ontogenetic series of all but two of the species of Phrynosoma, and defined parietal and squamosal “horns”, distinguishing them from tubercles. We counted parietal and squamosal horns and used phylogenetic analysis to reconstruct the plesiomorphic horn numbers for these bones. Based upon this, we propose and test hypotheses of evolutionary homology for these asperities and conclude the following: (1) a plesiomorphic horn array is retained among the species of Phrynosoma; the horns are paramorphs, each identifiable as an evolutionary homologue; (2) an autapomorphic additional pair of parietal horns in P. solare has been recruited from a pair of tubercles associated with the plesiomorphic parietal horns; (3) an additional anterior squamosal horn in P. solare and the Brevicauda species is derived from a tubercle recruited homoplasiously in these taxa; (4) the anteriormost squamosal horn of the plesiomorphic series in the species of the coronatum species group is highly reduced and is subsumed within the posteriormost jugal asperity and (5) an apparent additional squamosal horn exhibited by P. ditmarsi and P. modestum is instead an enlarged submarginal tubercle, a homoplasy for these species.

Rodents can present a large number of morphophysiological variations of the digestive system, allowing them to feed on different diets. In this context, the objective was to describe the morphology of the major salivary glands of Galea spixii. Gross dissection, light microscopy and transmission and scanning electron microscopy assessments of 12 specimens were carried out. The results demonstrate that the G. spixii has four pairs of major salivary glands (parotid, mandibular, zygomatic and sublingual). The glands are lobulated, composed acinar, consisting of mucous and serous acini, with the predominant parotid gland being serous and the zygomatic gland mucous. The mandibular and sublingual glands are mixed. The glands secrete acidic and neutral mucins and commonly present intercalary, striated and excretory ducts. The ultrastructure of the acinar cells suggests the presence of great cellular activity, with a cytoplasm taken by a rough endoplasmic reticulum, many mitochondria, vesicles of electrolucent nature and dispersed chromatin. In conclusion, the major salivary glands of G. spixii are constituted of mucous and serous acini, with serous acini predominant in the mandibular areas. The data also suggest that these rodents may adopt different types of diets, which may explain their adaptability to semi-arid environments.

Ultrastructural observations suggest that lipid material of lizard digital pads derives from degenerating cells in the inter-scale region. Acta Zoologica (Stockholm). Production of epidermal lipids in lizards occurs in mesos- and alpha-layers, including those present in gecko adhesive pads. Lipid material is present over the setae and spatulae of adhesive pads where adhesion takes place. Lipids are hypothesized to influence the process of adhesion keeping hydrophobic the spatula that contacts the substrate. The origin of lipids in pad lamellae that are lost as footsteps during gecko movements is unknown. To maintain setae lipid-coated requires a large and continuous supply of lipids and the most likely source is an epidermal region rich in lipids. Ultrastructural observations show that lipid material is released from sloughed mesos and alpha-cells in the inter-scale region of the lamellae. It is hypothesized that lipids passively move from the hinge region and reach the outer lamella surface. Lipids may also derive from frictional damage of the thin alpha-cells located in the hinge regions during pad extension for climbing or moving on the substrate. The discharged lipid material is likely pushed out from the hinge region by progressive accumulation of secreted material. The present hypothesis presents a simple model illustrating lipid movement from inter-scale regions that coat the setae, contributing to the indicated influence of lipids on spatula adhesion.

The effect of inflammation on tail and limb amputation in lizards is believed to inhibit regeneration. In support of previous studies, the present experimental and immunohistochemical analysis has detected some markers (CD3, CD5, MHCII) of mammalian T-lymphocytes and macrophages of inflammatory type in three different conditions where inflammation is activated. Bioinformatics comparisons indicate that the employed antibodies cross-react with lizard cells. While in regenerating tails few or no immune cells are seen, in microbial-infected and non-regenerating tails, a massive infiltration of mast cells, sparse macrophages and T-lymphocytes is present. In healing limbs, immunolabelled cells likely represented by macrophages and lymphocytes remain in healing tissues of the stump for 2–3 weeks. In the regenerating blastema after heat cauterization of the apical region, a massive infiltration of mast cells and granulocytes occurs at 1–3 days post-injury and a scarring outgrowth is later formed. Although the three markers appear not discriminate the types of immune-cells in lizard, they confirms that immunolabelled cells expressing markers of inflammation are produced in large number in the tail or limbs with strong inflammatory condition. Coupled with previous studies, the present observations support the idea that a high inflammation attracting numerous mast-cells, inflammatory macrophages and T-lymphocyte inhibits regeneration.

Morphological studies are useful to develop analysis with taxonomic, phylogenetic, ecological, physiological and evolutionary approaches. During the life cycle, Anurans carry out gas exchange through different structures such as gills, skin and lungs. In general, the development of lungs during the larval period is scarce known and most studies analyse the morphology and ultrastructure of the lung wall at the adult stage. This study describes the development and morphology of the lung of Trachycephalus typhonius during the prometamorphic and metamorphic periods and adult stage. Lung development starts at premetamorphic stages and continues along the prometamorphic and metamorphic periods with the development of the lung wall vascularization and pulmonary septa. There are remarkable differences comparing the lung framework at the end of metamorphosis to the one in the adult stage, regarding different-order septa and lung wall structure with a well-developed vascular network. Therefore, the final organization occurs during the juvenile period. This work is the first approach to the study of lung development during larval stages in this species and complements previous studies on lung morphology. Also, contributes to the knowledge of lung morphogenesis and could be useful to interpret the respiratory physiology in different environmental conditions.

The oldest known wolf appears 800,000 years ago (Marine Isotope Stage 21) in Eurasia with the unspecialized short-legged old Mammoth steppe wolf Canis lupus bohemica nov. spec. From this species, about 600,000–420,000 years ago (MIS 15-11), the interglacial Canis lupus mosbachensis (Soergel, 1925) short-legged Mosbach grey wolf subspecies roamed Eurasia. In the late Middle Pleistocene, there are two lineages, the southern interglacial grey and northern glacial White wolves in Eurasia. Since 320,000 (MIS 8), the short-legged White wolf Canis lupus spelaeus (Goldfuss, 1823) was the glacial Mammoth steppe-adapted wolf. Parallel to the “cave wolf” (found in the German Zoolithen Cave), the warm climate grey wolf Canis lupus brevis Kuzmina and Sablin, 1994 existed. C. l. spelaeus relates to the Holocene (MIS 1) extant Holarctic Greenland Canis lupus arctos and Siberian Canis lupus albus (Kerr, 1792). The Late Palaeolithic (MIS 2) “Gravettian Goyet dogs” fall into the DNA pool of C. l. spelaeus and are identified herein as pathological bite trauma individuals, which braincase shortened during the healing process. European prehistoric Neolithic dogs seem to have been imported from Central Asia with the Bandkeramik people (approx. 7000 BP) first, which have the stepped frontals originating from grey wolves.